After researching the possibility of a re-enactment at Ars Electronica of Robert Adrian groundbreaking work The World in 24 Hours from 1982, I was given the opportunity to host a session on the history of telecommunications art at the Ars Electronica festival in 2019. The session focused on the work of three artists and curators from the field: Bill Bartlett, who organized the first online conference in 1979 and started the first online artist network with Adrian; Heidi Grundmann, partner and important collaborator of Robert Adrian; and Salvatore Vanasco, part of the famous Van Gogh TV event at Documenta in 1992. It was quite an emotional event, because it was Bartlett’s first public appearance after almost forty years and age-related issues of Heidi Grundmann. It was and is important to bring the work of these pioneers in online community art to the fore, so I am greatful we were able to have this event.
